JORDAN

WHY IT’S HOT: NEW FLIGHTS, ANCIENT SITES AND STARRY NIGHTS.

We say: Travellers have finally cottoned on to the fact that Jordan is as safe as its history is long. And it’s about time. Romans, Crusaders, Greeks and Nabataeans have all left their mark here – now the rest of us are following suit as low-cost flights to the Red Sea port of Aqaba offer the opportunity to plot an adventurepacked route to the capital Amman.

Aqaba was the city liberated by ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in 1917 when he rode in and helped wrest it from Ottoman control. Today, its easy shores and coral-filled waters provide a handy base for exploring the red wilderness of Wadi Rum, an otherworldly desert where a night under the stars in a Bedouin camp conjures memories of the travellers of old. It’s also possible to trek the final stretch of the epic 650km-long Jordan Trail to Aqaba via its sands – a thrilling three-day trek.

From Aqaba, it’s just a four-hour drive to the capital, but myriad detours easily spread this over a week. Guided walks in the wild starry deserts of the Dana Biosphere Reserve and the extensive Roman ruins of Jerash are all worthy side trips. But the star attraction remains the ‘lost city’ of Petra. Slip through the canyons of the Siq, Indiana Jones fantasies rattling in your brain, to emerge at the breathtaking Treasury.

Don’t miss: If you want to skip the crowds at Petra, arrive via the rugged three-hour hike from Little Petra – part of the Jordan Trail – to emerge at the Royal Tombs. It’s the back way in!